CP Idowu Owohunwa has formally taken charge of Lagos State police command from his predecessor, Abiodun Alabi, who has been promoted to Assistant Inspector General of Police and moved to Zone ‘2’ Command, Onikan, Lagos.
Below is a detailed speech where he unveiled his plans for the state.
REMARKS OF CP IDOWU OWOHUNWA, FBINAA, COMMISSIONER OF POLICE, LAGOS STATE AT THE HANDING OVER CEREMONY ON 14TH FEBRUARY, 2023 AT THE STATE COMMAND HEADQUARTERS, IKEJA-LAGOS
I want to commence my remarks by first giving thanks, glory and adoration to the Almighty God for the opportunity to witness this event, for the favour of spiritual protection on you all, the hardworking personnel of Lagos State Police Command, and for His grace on Lagos State in General. Above all, I appreciate the Almighty God for the life of our outgoing amiable Lagos State Police Commissioner, Ag. AIG Abiodun Alabi, Fellow of the Prestigious Nigeria Defence College.
2.Ag. AIG Abiodun Alabi and I are not only professional soul mates, but he is also one of the most seasoned, highly cerebral, intellectually gifted, and professionally astute officers of the Nigeria Police. Little wonder, therefore, that during his tenure, he provided the requisite leadership which stabilized the internal security space in Lagos State. Sir, for your service and achievements, you shall remain eternally celebrated in the history of the Command and indeed, the Force.
3.Having had the privilege of serving in the State at some point in my policing career, and from my vantage position and schedules as Principal Staff Officer to different Inspectors General of Police with schedules including monitoring policing issues across all the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT on daily basis, I can confirm that I have a deep and practical knowledge of the values and expectations of the government and good people of Lagos State, particularly in relation to how they expect to be policed. I also understand and appreciate well-enough the complex dynamics in the task of providing policing leadership for a Command with a mandate to police a State that is reputed to be the 5th largest economy in Africa.
4.While Lagos State presents a unique security challenge on account of its demography and socio-economic interplays, it also prides itself as the State in which successive governments, particularly, the incumbent Government in the State have mainstreamed policing and public safety. I know not of any State in this country that dedicates so much resources and situates law enforcement in the front burner in public discourse than Lagos State. I also do not know of any other State in the Federation that has the strategic law enforcement and clear public security structures and backline, sustainable funding regime for public safety and security like Lagos State. Indeed, Lagos State today, has become a reference point in the national discourse on policing framework. In addition, Lagosians are known to be the most cosmopolitan, enlightened and security conscious citizens of this country.
5.Even more motivating is the reality that Lagos State Police Command is blessed with the most resilient, highly diligent, dedicated, and passionate police officers who at great personal costs, sacrifice day and night to keep Lagosians safe and secure, although, it is acknowledged that like any human organization, few eggs in the fold still constitute a bad influence on the whole good basket. This, however, does not take the shine off the great work that the majority officers of the command are known to be doing even under very challenging situations. For this you all have my commendation and encouragement.
6.As I assume the leadership mandate at the Centre of Excellence on this day, I shall optimally leverage on these strengths in my vision to positively change the policing narratives in the State. Towards this goal, I assure that I will draw on my professional experience and deploy an all-society strategy towards upscaling operational standards of policing in all aspects. This will involve the deployment of citizen’s engagement strategy, intelligence driven tools, and strategic approaches to crime prevention, detection, and prosecution.
7.It will also emphasise operational efficiency and strong inter-agency synergy with the Military detachments and other State and Federal Law enforcement and public safety agencies in the State. Above all, with your support and trust of Lagosians, I intend to adopt a problem-solving framework that will be founded on the policing principle of zero-tolerance to crime, the practice of crime-mapping, and utilization of crime statistics and intelligence analysis tools to support perspective policing.
8.My dear officers, our bond with Lagosians is to keep them safe and secure. Logosians want this done within the context of rule of law, professionalism, and utmost respect for their fundamental Human Rights. With the grace of Almighty God, the perfector of all human plans and with the invaluable support of the government, good people of this State and all officers of the Command, I promise to work assiduously to provide the requisite leadership to Lagos State Police Command in a manner that will prioritise discipline, training and capacity development, professionalism, and public accountability in a manner that will leave the government and Lagosians in no doubts of any sort of our renewed commitment to policing them within their expectations.
9.I promise that under my watch, I will be hard on deviants within the fold of the State Police Command who continually bring us into disrepute and pitch us against the citizens we are paid to serve and protect. Such elements are encouraged to embrace the tenets of self-discipline in the common good or be ready to for the consequences. An undisciplined officer is a threat not only to the policing family but to the community and the State he serves.
10.Hence, my leadership will be founded firmly and strictly on discipline and professionalism, and you should please all return to your jurisdictions and deepen the lecture on this to your men. For as often said, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. So let me sound this warning as loudly and clearly as possible. If you perform your duties within acceptable ethical and professional standards, you shall have my back in the line of your duties. But if you exceed the permissible ethical and professional bounds, you shall be dealt with firmly. Let no officer be in doubt on this in relation to my leadership.
11.Aside this, Lagos State Police Command under my watch will be manifestly hard on criminals and their networks but civil with law abiding citizens and respectful of their rights. In this regard, in due course sets of Actions that will address issues impacting on seamless police-public trust and partnership will be initiated and details of this and the Broad Policing Action Plans for Lagos State will be shared with you. When this is done, my expectation will be for all of you to key into it and adapt your policing approach accordingly.
12.This is Lagos. This is the pride of the country. The plans may the lofty. The professional experience to drive it may be rich. The passion to deliver may be strong. But without the buy-in of strategic stakeholders and all spectrum of Lagosians, the journey to policing excellence may be rough and bumpy. In this process, therefore, I solicit the support, guidance, and trust of all Lagosians. I will remain open to constructive criticisms, inputs, pieces of advice and above all, critical criminal information that will aid our proactive actions in crime management. It is my believe that there must come a time in the lives of a people that they should resolve to trust, work together, and march hand in hand to confront our common enemy, the criminal elements that are threatening our common values for peace, safety, and security. The time is now for Lagos and Lagosians and I am determined to provide the police leadership that will accelerate this process.
13.The era of what we often refer to in police parlance as the ‘siege mentality’, the ‘we’ and ‘them’ syndrome in which the citizens and the police see themselves as enemies should now be discarded. Ushered in should be the era of ‘we the People’ and ‘our Police’ against ‘them’ the criminals. We should be reminded that a crack in the relationship between the citizens and their police only serves to advance the interest of the criminals to the disadvantage of the citizens. I promise to change this narrative with the support of all of you seated here and all Lagosians.
14.In the interim, we must be reminded that the immediate task we must deal with has to do with the upcoming General Elections as they affect Lagos State. The outgoing Commissioner of Police has briefed me in detail on the strategies and Action Plans for the exercise. As we commence the process of giving effect to these plans, I wish to assure Lagosians of our firm resolve and full preparedness of the Lagos State Police Command to ensure that the process is peaceful, secure, and credible. Our operations shall also be conducted within the dictates of the Revised Code of Conduct for Police Officers on Election Security Duty which was recently developed by the Inspector General of Police and distributed to all State Police Commands including Lagos State.
15.I, however, call on all the electorates to cooperate with us and exercise their franchise within the ambits of the law in the electoral process as the Command is committed to identifying, isolating, and dealing decisively with any person or group that intends to put our resolve to ensure peace within the electoral process to test. In this regard, while electoral adversaries will be brought to justice in the swiftest manner, peace-loving and law-abiding electorates will be duly protected, and the electoral space fully policed for this purpose.
16.To this end, I will soon embark on duty tour of police Commands and all strategic partners with the aim of galvanizing all spectrum in the State to our broad law enforcement vision and mission. The duty tour to your jurisdictions may be informal, impromptu, or unannounced. I, therefore, advise you to ensure that you provide leadership that will not expose your Area Commands or Division to lapses that could cause you some consequences.
17. At this juncture, I once again sincerely salute my boss and predecessor, Ag. AIG Abiodun Alabi, for his service to the Command and people of Lagos State. You might be exiting the State Command, but the good news is that you are still at our service, though on a higher professional ground. We shall be knocking on your door for professional guidance. I trust, you will always let us in.
18.On this note, I thank you all for the opportunity and honour of your warm reception and look forward to working with you as a team towards attaining our mandate to keep Lagosians safe and secure. May Almighty God continually bless you all and perfect all that concerns you as you rededicate yourselves to the task of policing Lagos State (Amen).
I thank you for your rapt attention.
